Rotary Orienter With Unlockable Pads For Object Reorientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orienting systems in the packaging industry face challenges in repositioning objects from random orientations to predetermined orientations, leading to issues like jamming, handling damage, misapplication of labels or seals, and visual discontinuities in packaged sets, which can result in customer dissatisfaction and processing inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A rotary orienter is designed with a central shaft, a rotatable turret, and indexable rotation pads that can be unlocked by an actuator mechanism to reorient objects from a receiving station to a discharge station, utilizing a sensor to detect misalignment and adjust the rotation pad's position to align objects correctly, with adjustable rotation rates to prevent jerking or dislocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the rotation pad is locked during indexing, then the object position is stable, but the pad cannot rotate to correct misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically transitions the rotation pad between locked and unlocked states based on operational requirements. The pad is locked during indexing to maintain position stability, then unlocked at the actuating station to enable rotation for alignment correction, resolving the contradiction between stability and adaptability through temporal separation of functions
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary indexing with the pad locked in a stable position, then prepares for rotation by unlocking at the appropriate station. This preliminary action ensures position stability during transport while enabling correction capability when needed
2Productivity
If the pad rotation rate is increased, then alignment speed is improved, but jerking or dislocation of the object occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system adjusts the pad rotation rate as a variable parameter to optimize performance. By controlling the rotation speed within specific ranges and adjusting it based on operational conditions, the system achieves fast alignment while preventing harmful jerking and dislocation effects
3Productivity
If multiple rotation pads are used, then processing capacity is increased, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple rotation pads are designed with identical structures and control mechanisms, allowing them to perform the same functions. This universality enables increased processing capacity through parallel pads while minimizing the increase in device complexity through standardized design
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary orienter includes a turret rotatable about a central axis and at least one rotation pad rotatably mounted to the turret and selectively rotatable about a pad axis. The turret rotates to index the rotation pad to a receiving station, a discharge station and at least one actuating station distributed radially about the central axis. The actuating station is intermediate the receiving station and discharge station. The rotation pad indexes from the receiving station in a locked condition such that rotation of the rotation pad is prevented, and is selectively unlocked by the actuating station such that the unlocked rotation pad rotates during indexing of the turret from the actuating station to the discharge station to reorient an object received onto the rotation pad at the receiving station in a received orientation to a predetermined orientation for discharge of the object in the predetermined orientation at the discharge station.